In Cromwell v. A & S Construction, Inc., 2013 UT App 240, Cromwell, a subcontractor to A & S Construction, Inc. brought a negligence claim against A & S after he fell down an empty elevator shaft and suffered severe injuries. A & S was the general contractor on the project and had subcontracted with Guns and Hoses to install doors to the empty elevator shaft. Guns and Hoses secured the doors and posted a warning sign, but Cromwell fell down the shaft when he opened the doors to putty the trim. Seeking to avoid some or all of the liability for Cromwell’s injuries, A & S gave notice of intent to allocate fault to Guns and Hoses. Accordingly, Guns and Hoses became entangled in the litigation.

The district court, however, determined that Guns & Hoses owed no duty to Cromwell to secure the doors. The district court also determined that even if Guns & Hoses owed Cromwell such a duty, Guns & Hoses did not breach that duty because Guns & Hoses did secure the doors and did post warnings.On appeal, the Court of Appeals recognized for the first time in Utah that subcontractors owe a duty to perform work without creating an unreasonable risk to another subcontractor. The Court of Appeals, however, limited the extent of the subcontractor’s duty by the scope of the subcontractor’s contract. Guns & Hoses contracted to install the elevator doors. Guns & Hoses therefore had a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect other workers from dangerous conditions created by that work only. The Court of Appeals accordingly held that the duty of Guns & Hoses did not extend to securing the shaft. Implied by the Court of Appeals opinion is the conclusion that A & S and perhaps the subcontractor contractually responsible for and in control of the empty shaft shared the duty to protect Cromwell and other subcontractors from the dangerous condition created by the empty shaft.

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Daniel L. Day is a real estate and construction law attorney. The posts Mr. Day makes to this site are for informational purposes only and not for providing legal advice. Your use of this site will not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Mr. Day and will not be subject to the attorney-client privilege. If you have a legal concern, you should seek the advice of legal counsel and should not rely on the information on this site. Comments to this site are the opinions of the authors and may not reflect Mr. Day's opinions. All posts and comments to this site are intended to be made public and are not confidential.